RICHMOND-NEWS.COM
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016
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NEWSin the City
Flores warmly remembered by colleagues Alan Campbell
Staff Reporter acampbell@richmond-news.com
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! The body of Ephraigm Flores was recovered from a pond in Garden City Park.
body pulled from a pond in Garden City Park on New Year’s Eve has been confirmed as that of missing 23-year-old Ephraigm Flores. Although family members identified Flores on the weekend via an online fundraising site, the death was only announced by the BC Coroner’s Service on Monday. Flores, who lived in Toronto but had family and work connections in Richmond, was visiting the city and had not been seen since returning from a music event at B.C. Place on Boxing Day. After his family raised the alarm on Dec. 27, Richmond RCMP asked the public to keep an eye out for Flores. But fears for his wellbeing grew as items
of his clothing were found in the park and police began to search the pond near Garden City Road and Granville Avenue. In the early afternoon of Thursday, Dec. 31, search teams from the RCMP and Richmond Fire-Rescue discovered Flores’ body in the frigid waters of the pond. Although both the coroner and Richmond RCMP continue to investigate the death, police say there doesn’t appear to be suspicious circumstances. Flores’ family has now launched a crowdfunding campaign to fly his body home to Toronto for a funeral. In an emotional post written by a woman identifying herself as Flores’ sister, the fundraiser states, “For the past few days, the Flores family spent the holidays looking for Ephraigm. He was lost. He was missing and everyone, even people we do not know, tried to search for him.
“On behalf of our family, thank you for all the efforts, it means a lot to us. Now, we have found him. But, the situation is not what the family expected.” The campaign had raised more than $13,000 in its first day and, as of Tuesday morning, stood at more than $16,000. It appears that Flores used to work as a nurse at Rosewood Manor in Richmond, as tributes to his character were posted online by his former colleagues. “I could not have asked for a better best friend, you showed me a warmth and care I have never felt. You lived life fearlessly, and gave me the strength to do so too,” said one former colleague, while another said, “My condolences, thoughts and prayers are sent out to the family and friends! “I can tell you that everyone at Rosewood is deeply saddened!!”
Rottweiler owner to fight pet’s termination From page 1 Richmond RCMP arrived shortly after and shot at the dog, missing it three times as it ran away. “The dog was momentarily distracted and returned to re-attack the victim and now one of our officers,” explained Richmond RCMP’s Cpl. Dennis Hwang. “She was then forced to discharge her service pistol at the dog.” Kati was sent to Vancouver General Hospital after suffering more than 100 bites to her body, a fractured arm and a detached biceps. Police stated she was covered in blood and in critical condition, at the time. She was released the next day. “She (Kati) was trying to draw the dog away from attacking her three-year-old nephew, the son of her twin sister,” said Hwang. Jessi also sustained multiple lacerations to her body while, apparently, defending her son from the dog. Meanwhile, over the weekend, the toddler’s father, Jordan Kelly, told media his son was physically unharmed but is having nightmares. Kelly said he had sought RCMP victim services. “The boy was luckily unharmed. Their drive to protect the boy was incredibly heroic,” added Hwang, who also had high praise for Brodie. “He unselfishly put himself in harm’s way in order to protect a fellow human being,” he said. After the News broke the story on Brodie’s heroics, most Metro Vancouver news agencies reported on the incident in the days that followed.
! Ken Brodie (photo by Graeme Wood) ran to the aid of twins Jessi and Kati
Mathers who were being attacked by Kati’s boyfriend’s dog, Yogi, (photos from Facebook) while walking in South Arm Park with Jessi’s three-year old son. Kati was mauled, apparently trying to divert the dog away from the toddler.
The public praised Brodie, however some attention also fell on the Mathers sisters’ open use of drugs and alcohol on social media, particularly after Kati identified herself on Facebook as the more serious attack victim. Family friend Alegria Gomez had initially started a GoFundMe online fundraiser to raise $2,000 as the twins recovered from their injuries, unable to work in the food industry. But Gomez told The News she subsequently took the fundraiser down after the Mathers experienced public “slander and humiliation” online. On Monday, Jessi and Kati also visited Brodie to thank him. Earlier in the day, MacNeil posted on Facebook that the media had “stretched this story to build attention.” However, MacNeil also appeared to take
issue with the Mathers taking Yogi outside without him. “My dog was taken without permission from his home, when I have stated many times not to take my dog without me. He was tied to a tree (and) when untied or provoked he attacked,” wrote MacNeil, “Now he (Yogi) is being held, and his life threatened, before all the facts of the case have been brought to light,” said MacNeil, who is calling for a full investigation. Clinical animal behaviourist Dr. Rebecca Ledger said a full investigation would have involved a medical examination of Yogi immediately after being taken to RAPS. According to RAPS CEO Eyal Lichtmann, such an examination was not called for by the City of Richmond, which will make the decision to euthanize Yogi, or not. “They may have missed the boat depend-
ing on how quickly they got the blood or urine samples,” said Ledger, who said the attack was one of the worst she’s heard of. Another aspect of the investigation will involve Yogi’s home environment, she said. “It’s very rare for dogs to behave this intensely, this aggressively, for no apparent reason. So what we need to do is understand more about the incident itself,” added Ledger. Possible causes of aggression are toxic substance ingestion, disease and feeling threatened, she added. Lichtmann said Yogi has been in isolation since the incident and only paid staff members are allowed to interact with him. The city can only euthanize a dog with the owner’s permission. Without permission, it must seek a court order, which the owner can fight.